Twenty banks that currently participate in the calculation of London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) have agreed to continue supporting the benchmark for the next couple of years while alternative benchmarks are developed and implemented, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Friday.
The FCA says it welcomes the banks’ support, and their agreement to remain as LIBOR submitters. “Based on this support until the end of 2021, the FCA expects focus to turn towards developing alternative rates and working towards a transition that can be executed smoothly,” it says in a news release.
There will be a couple of changes to the composition of the benchmark submission panels, the FCA notes. Société Générale will stop submitting to the U.S. dollar panel, and Credit Agricole will no longer make submissions to the Japanese yen panel. Both banks will continue to submit to all of the other panels that they currently participate in.
The FCA says that it does not expect to see any further changes to the LIBOR panels.